Plok (Plok)Another character dropped into a game too difficult for them. Plok is fast enough and quite maneuverable. He also has a great forward attack for character that doesn't carry a gun. His special attacks all require some kind of ammo unfortunately and his biggest problem is his game is, like I said, too tough for him. Too many monsters in Plok either have high HP or just invincible. But he is a good platformer and would kick ass in most other games.

Shintaro (Nankoku Shounen Papuwa-kun)He can't jump. It's a problem. Even though he gets EXP and levels up Shintaro is a terrible character. Getting him to be just where you want him so he doesn't get hit or gets to that hard to reach ledge is way too much work. The worse part is at first he seems fast. At least he can take a pounding. At his top level he does decent damage too but lose a life and that's over. I shudder to think how frustrating a character he would be in other games.

Oscar (Oscar)Now this is a classic platform character. His jumping and maneuverability are good. His defense and offense are predictable. He gets cute weapons and upgrades that are lost if he gets hit. He doesn't have a lot of special moves, he's just designed to run around, grab items, and jump on heads. You could switch him out with Mario and not really notice any difference. His game is short and he can do combos. He should do OK in most platformers.BTW this game would be a breeze to map.

Aero (Aero the Acrobat 2)I couldn't get the first Aero to work. That's OK though since from what I remember this Aero is better. Aero can move! from doing bouncing combos to straight up flight sometimes Aero could almost keep up with Sonic. He's got good interwoven defense and offense too protecting himself more often then not by attacking. You won't notice his lack of versatility because his jumping and bouncing off things gets him easily by without it. He really is a great character. Any other game would be lucky to have him.

Hero (Shounen Ashibe)I don't know his name but he's a baby seal and he capable of all the things you'd expect from a baby seal. In midair he'll go where you point him but that's his only real strength. He has no attack, none at all. His cute little headbutt only acts as a way to find what you're looking for in each level. He has no defense, none at all. The only upside being he can't actually die from normal hits. He has no moves either. He just kind of bounces around the almost totally harmless levels in his game grabbing things then looking for the exit. He would die so fast in any other game I can't think of an analogy.BTW this game would be a breeze to map.

Rocky (Rocky Rodent)More acceleration problems here but jumping and maneuverability are decent. Rocky is an unusual character because all his offense, upgrades that are lost when hit, double as tools. He can stab or swing with his hair, whip or grapple with his hair, slash or climb with his hair. It's a funny game. Rocky can be a dangerous versatile force one moment and a marshmallow just one hit later. If he could call on his hair styles whenever he'd be bad news. But he can't so I really don't think he'd shine in too many other games.

Zero (Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel)Should be Zero the flying squirrel with his maneuverability. Zero can double jump off the screen and use a variety of diving moves to more or less fly. Unfortunately he's harder to control then Aero since he skids. Other downfalls include a weak offense for a character that uses his body as a weapon. Overlooking the tricky control and tougher then average in game enemies Zero is one of the top platform game characters of all time. He's so fast in the air and on the draw I can't think of any game that would be trouble for him, provided the player is skilled enough to control him.

Saul (Wolfchild)Saul can take a lot of damage, and once powered up in wolf form can deal a lot too. He's a bad jumper and not very versatile but in his game that doesn't really matter. Unfortunately his cooler wolf mode moves require ammo and more unfortunately losing wolf mode due to too much damage takes all ammo away. In his human form Saul would be something of concern for your average game monster, and his wolf form would be something to be feared. But oh wait, there's no ramp up to that ledge, never mind. I wouldn't want to export Mr. wolf unless he gave up his lead shoes.

Mr. Nutz (Mr. Nutz)I'd like to say great things about this guy. Things like "really maneuverable" and "can do as many off enemy head combos as Mario". But he's really not that great. Not very versatile and lacking real defense Mr. Nutz requires ammo if he wants to get through a level without countless near death experiences. His game makes it worse requiring the player to land exactly on the center of an enemy's head to avoid damage. The platforming requirements are also more work then fun. I wouldn't bother exporting him. He's only average.

Spot (Cool Spot)Yay for unlimited ammo that can be fired in any and all directions at almost automatic speed. That said we have more acceleration problems here. Spot is a great jumper and can land on a dime and in some areas of this game you have to. He, it?, can also take a lot of damage before keeling over. Maybe with the exception of versatility all Spot's stats cap just short of awesome. Definitely cool Spot would make a great export to any other platformer... that allows for characters that are only a square inch in size, heh.

The Kongs (Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 & 3)This is gonna be long. The kongs are well rounded platform characters. They're all very stable and yet they can all pour on the speed or agility when they have to. Their forward attack requires no ammo, which I'm appreciating more and more. They're versatility is what you'd expect from monkeys, each having a unique trick. They're only weakness is there defense since they have none. Donkey has an extra forward attack for some reason and he's heavy so no deflection is protection for almost all enemies. Diddy makes up for Donkey's lax jumping and is a little faster but other then that there's no significant difference. Dixie goes even further in the maneuverability department by adding a fantastic gliding ability to Diddy's speed. Kiddy then tosses all these great upgrades falling back on Donkey's brute force method losing a little quickness in the process. For all the Kong's greatness I really don't know how they'd do in another game. Well, Dixie would do fine, but a lot of other games have faster moving enemies then the DKC series. Monsters also usually pack more tricks and attack from more angles, so the Kongs, excluding Dixie but especially Kiddy, would probably have to work a lot harder. I'd cautiously export Diddy or Dixie but I'd be waiting for trouble.

Animal Buddies (Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 & 3)This is too will be long. All together the animals would make the best character ever. Individually each is still more or less top of the line in their department. You've got all the jumping, maneuverability, offense, and versatility you need. Of course there's still the defense problem. And they all share it so I'm not going to bother mentioning it again. Enguarde is fast as hell and he doesn't even need to attack to kill what's in front of him, it's automatic. His only problem is one shared by Ellie, somewhat slow turning, but she makes up for it in the same way he does: by having awesome offense, that is in her case ranged. Expresso is not only fast he's the only character other then Dixie that can glide, which is as bad as good when he's so maneuverable you can't always see where he's falling. Rattly, with the best jumping out of all three games, has the same problem but fixes it half the time with landings that kill almost anything they hit. Rambi takes all of Enguarde's tricks and makes them easier to control putting all that power into a huge unstoppable body. Squawks maintains almost all of that too offense while maxing out maneuverability letting him kill from all angles. Squitter just can't be topped, quickly making his own platforms and firing unlimited webs that can kill even the toughest enemies. And while Squitter can't jump Winky soars and then drops like an anvil over and over at great speed. Each of the animal buddies could probably get through a lot of games by relying on their specific strength but I think Squawks and Squitter would really shine. Hell, there's no stopping Squitter. I'd love to try exporting all of them, and I'd love to wail on hated levels or bosses with Squitter.

Hero (Incantation)Possibly the only character that slides and yet still somehow has max maneuverability. This guy, whatever his name is, is just great. His forward attack is fast, damaging, and can be quite varied. He's fast too, with no wait recovery from hits and accidents. It's easy to quickly get him where you want to him to be and then blast the crap out of things. His versatility is only average, or maybe a little above, and he can take a pounding. He'd do great in other games.BTW this game would be a breeze to map.

Alfred (Alfred Chicken)For the most part Alfred stinks. He needs ammo and a lot of space for better offense or cool moves. He's only basically versatile, and his defense is nonexistent. But his maneuverability! Holy crap! You can easily put him anywhere, move out of the way of an attack, wait in midair, then move back. Unfortunately being as light as the feathers on his body alone turns out to be not quite enough. He dies a lot. I really do appreciate all the agility though and can't think of a character that does better in that department. I'd export him for laughs if nothing else.

Iria (Hyper Iria)Imagine a stripped down Samus for Iria here. Don't get me wrong Iria's awesome. She has good defense, a lot of crazy offensive moves that she's quick with, and good jumping. But she can also be a brick in midair. Her better weapons need ammo, and unlike Samus she can only carry a certain number of power ups into each level. Iria is really saved by the quickness with which she can launch attacks. At the end of the day she's a great character and she would do great in just about any other platform game.

VGMaps.com is an archive of video game maps up since May 6, 2002. Optimized for at least 800 x 600 resolution.

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